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Douglas Farrar

@douglasfarrar.bsky.social
1.1K followers 394 following 197 posts

Opinions expressed are mine and should be adopted by you immediately.

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Reposted by Douglas Farrar
Alvaro M. Bedoya @bedoyausa.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Hannah Garden-Monheit’s father had his leg amputated. UnitedHealth denied him rehab and denied him a prosthetic leg. A tragic must-read story about how private health insurers use prior approvals to pad their profits at the expense of the people they’re supposed to help:
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maura quint @mauraquint.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I respect France's commitment to not working on a holiday.
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Washington Monthly @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
@nickhanauer.bsky.social and @ericbeinhocker.bsky.social argue that capitalism can be saved, provided there’s a radical makeover of what a capitalist economy should achieve. @anne-s-kim.bsky.social writes.
washingtonmonthly.com
The Capitalists Trying to Fix Capitalism
Can capitalism be saved? Is it worth saving? Two ambitious reformers argue yes—provided we change what a capitalist economy should achieve.
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The Middle Out Center @middleoutcenter.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
If you're thinking about what comes after neoliberalism, this is the perfect conversation to start with. Full conversation at the link below ⬇ #EconSky
thesling.org
Slingshot Episode 29 - The Sling
Eric Beinhocker, Professor at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, discusses his forthcoming book, Market Humanism, which sets out a new economic paradigm to replace neoliberalism.
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The Middle Out Center @middleoutcenter.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
@inetoxford.bsky.social ED and Oxford economist @ericbeinhocker.bsky.social + entrepreneur, investor and economic thinker @nickhanauer.bsky.social have been building a new framework for how markets work—and who they work for. Beinhocker just took it to @HalSinger.bsky.social's Slingshot podcast. 🧵
Oxford econ professor Eric Beinhocker has a new book out called Market Humanism, co-authored with Nick Hanauer, that offers a new economic paradigm to guide policymakers out of the rubble from neoliberalism.
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Lauren Feiner @laurenfeiner.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Pinterest fired two engineers accused of writing a custom script that exposed their recently laid-off colleagues. One of those fired workers is going public for the first time, saying Pinterest mischaracterized the events leading up to his firing. (Gift link) www.theverge.com/policy/90612...
theverge.com
Pinterest said he violated laid-off colleagues’ privacy. Now he’s going public
The fired engineer says there’s more to the story.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
The ‘drain the swamp’ president has a lobbyist raking in so much corporate cash for making antitrust problems disappear that he tells @wsj.com on the record he could “retire right now,” just one year into Trump’s term.
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 10/03/2026
The DOJ moved to settle its antitrust case with Live Nation/Ticketmaster while a jury was in court and states were ready to fight. The deal would let the company keep its stranglehold on nearly every major US concert venue. The administration's actions will keep ticket costs high for Americans.
Screenshot of an Associated Press politics headline reading, “Justice Department and Live Nation reach settlement over illegal monopoly case.”
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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g. Film: 1873 Colfax massacre Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
politico.com
ChatGPT cuts in action
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
We wanted to know how Latino voters felt about Bad Bunny's criticism of ICE. So we talked to three white centrist podcasters at a Le Pain Quotidien in Dupont Ciricle.
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Rick Perlstein @rickperlstein.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
I don't mean to seem alarmed, but it appears Google's book search function is, just...gone. In a sane country it would be a huge deal, front page news, that a privately owned utility that millions researches, from journalists to scholars, rely on every day to advance knowledge can just disappear.
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 30/01/2026
Today, we honor the birthday of Franklin D. Roosevelt—a leader who guided the nation through crisis with bold vision and unwavering resolve. While it may be his 144th birthday, FDR’s ideas still speak to our current economic and political moment. 1/6 🧵
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Sarah Myers West @smw.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
This week Open AI walked back a call for the govt to backstop financing for its trillion dollar investments in data centers. This was only the tip of the iceberg; a slow bailout for AI firms is already underway. Read more from @ambakak.bsky.social and I in @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...
wsj.com
Opinion | You May Already Be Bailing Out the AI Business
Washington is treating the industry as if it’s too big to fail, even as the market sends lukewarm signals.
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Whatever else is in the deal, agreeing to merely have a vote on ACA is a fig leaf. Even if it passes the Senate, it won't in the House, which also makes it an easy yes vote for the Senate Rs who might want to, defusing it as an attack on them. It is a stupid ask even on Team Schumer's own terms.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 05/11/2025
Josh Hawley says he supports ending the filibuster
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Lina Khan in conversation with @hcrichardson.bsky.social about the history of antitrust and the future of the Democrats. Watch! 📺 substack.com/@linamkhan/n...
substack.com
Live with Heather Cox Richardson
A recording from Lina Khan and Heather Cox Richardson's live video
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Let’s do it. In the long run it might create more democratic accountability in government and get the Congress back engaged with actually governing.
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AI Now Institute @ainowinstitute.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Anthropic’s partnership with the DOE to keep Claude from building a nuclear weapon makes for good headlines. @heidykhlaaf.bsky.social calls it security theater. The real risk is AI firms gaining access to national security data. www.wired.com/story/anthro...
wired.com
Anthropic Has a Plan to Keep Its AI From Building a Nuclear Weapon. Will It Work?
Anthropic partnered with the US government to create a filter meant to block Claude from helping someone build a nuke. Experts are divided on whether its a necessary protection—or a protection at all.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
This is a big case to watch. We could end up seeing internal DOGE staff discussions about cancelling federal grants, and why. I'm predicting: foolish, ham-fisted, possibly some AI assisted sloppy decisions using keywords... That's why they are trying so hard to keep it out of the record.
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Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
👀 Just Now -- President Trump in the Oval Office said a government shutdown gives his administration the power to cut benefit programs, which include Social Security and Medicare. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them, and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like. And, you all know Russell Vought. He’s become very popular recently because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn't do any other way. So they're taking a risk by having a shutdown. Because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people. We don't want to do that, but we don't want fraud, waste and abuse.”
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Mike O'Neill @mikeoneillcloud.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Lina Khan points out especial risks when monopolies start to control mainstream media. www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w... h/t @douglasfarrar.bsky.social
msnbc.com
Lina Khan on media, mergers, & muzzling dissent
When FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened ABC over a controversial monologue by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, his show was suspended hours later by the network. Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan w...
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
They say a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, but it’s harder to get them to indict…a hero?! 🥪 🤣
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
What Alford claims is happening at DOJ Antitrust Division is the inverse of economic populism. Biden antitrust officials sought to shift economic power towards people through legit law enforcement. Under Trump, economic power is held by a handful of well-connected elites.
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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
www.bloomberg.com/news/article... with @sisco.bsky.social
bloomberg.com
DOJ ‘Perverted Justice’ in HPE Deal, Dismissed Official Says
A Justice Department official dismissed last month said Monday that two of his former colleagues “perverted justice” during an antitrust settlement over Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $13 billion takeov...
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Must watch from the former FTC Chair and "Lebron James of Government" according to a random person on Twitter.
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Lindsay Owens @lindsayowens.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Lot of talk today upon Musk’s departure about how little money he saved us. True but irrelevant. This was a land grab. Musk is leaving because he got what he came for. This Palantir story is just the beginning. We’ll watch the long tail of this destruction unfold over years to come.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Bad news on that front if it’s anything like what the FTC found under Biden happened after COVID supply chain shocks.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/03/ftc-releases-report-grocery-supply-chain-disruptions
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Alvaro M. Bedoya @bedoyausa.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Commissioner Slaughter and I wrote for the @financialtimes.com about the downstream effects of the president’s attempt to fire us. www.ft.com/content/7607...
ft.com
Trump’s move to fire us is a terrible warning for the US economy
Our case is about whether America is ruled by laws or political whims
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
By illegally firing FTC commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya President Trump moves closer to bringing all economic regulation and monetary policy under his corrupt control. Dangerous and costly times ahead for American businesses and consumers.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/04/2025
🔥 @ninajankowicz.com: "Mr Taibbi said when he was first searching through the so-called Twitter files he didn't know what he was looking at. Well, he still doesn't. Everything looks like a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works."
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
When your global business empire takes a tumble thanks to your crazy political views and unpopular public policies, one way to juice your stock is just pay yourself with billions in taxpayer money. I predict massive corruption incoming.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Here is a problem worth considering: Republicans say they are the party of workers, and lots of workers believe it and reward them with votes. Democrats, on policy, are often the pro-business party and businesses don't care, or actively oppose Democrats. At some point Dems need to wake tf up.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Is there a suggestion box for waste, fraud and abuse? I’d like to make a submission www.wired.com/story/doge-g...
wired.com
Some DOGE Staffers Are Drawing Six-Figure Government Salaries
Engineers and executives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency are drawing healthy taxpayer-funded salaries—sometimes from the very agencies they are cutting.
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Jeff Stein @jeffstein.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Massive encroachment by Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section - makes clear dissenting views will not be published I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
WaPo opinion is going to become a second tier WSJ Opinion section. Strange decision for the paper of record in Washington, D.C. I always felt the Post was there to hold federal agencies to account, not shill for a set of political principles.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
A big problem for the "Biden created inflation" Jason Furman types is how big of a percent of demand comes from the richest 10% of Americans. The problem with economics that doesn't consider power dynamics (in this case vast income inequality) is that they miss the forest from the trees.
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kate conger @kateconger.com · 22/02/2025
Musk just sent an email to the federal work force, with a subject line "What did you do last week?" "Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished this week and cc your manager," it said.
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Alvaro M. Bedoya @bedoyausa.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
1/ Dear everyone who just went grocery shopping and saw this, There’s a person in government who could flick his pen and investigate what the hell is going on with eggs. No, not your congressman. His name is Andrew Ferguson. He’s the new head of the @FTC. Has he done that? No
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
If only there were some sort of 237 year old parchment, some kind of charter of laws if you will, that outlined those guardrails!
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Erie Meyer @erie.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Remember those technologists I hired using an authority designed to bring private sector tech talent to gov, legally? They were looking into big tech. Trump just fired them. All of them. consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/…
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
Chair Khan enforced the antitrust laws without considering things like ESG or DEI, because that's what Congress told antitrust regulators to do. So ask yourself, "Does the culture war stuff protect consumers and fair competition?" Or is this all just a distraction to cover inaction?
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Regarding “reporting hidden DEI” - when I worked at the FTC right wing groups would FOIA us for all sorts of slang terms for various race or sexual preference groups. I always found it funny, them hunting for secret DEI emails by searching urban dictionary for slang terms for white people
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Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
BREAKING: The FTC is suing John Deere, $DE, for using unfair practices to drive up repair costs.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Did Musk just cancel Trump’s inauguration party??? @samsteindc.bsky.social
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I guess size does matter...?
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Merry Musk Christmas Shutdown everyone!
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Hakeem Jeffries @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass.
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Douglas Farrar @douglasfarrar.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
FTC Chair Lina Khan with yet another dub, banning junk fees on short term rentals and event tickets.
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